Strike at Chinese Plant That Supplies Honda May Be Sign of Things To Come

A strike at a factory in Foshan, China, that supplies parts for Honda Motor Co., will not affect production of Honda vehicles for the U.S. market, the car maker says.

But this strike and others in China recently are indicative of a trend toward higher labor costs that will eventually lead to higher prices for vehicles, parts and service.

A Honda spokesman says the factory run by parts supplier Atsumitec Co. makes transmission shift levers mainly for Honda cars sold in China. Honda says it also uses the factory’s parts in a version of the Honda Fit sold in Europe, where it is called the Jazz. But none of the parts made there go into vehicles bound for the U.S.

Still, given the high frequency of strikes in China lately and the broad use of Chinese-made parts throughout the auto industry, U.S customers should brace for occasional shortages. You may find delivery of your new car is delayed because certain parts made in China and other countries with historically low labor costs are suddenly in short supply. Getting a vehicle repaired may be more expensive or time consuming than expected because of a spare-parts shortage.

The Atsumitec strike ends a relatively quiet period in the first part of July. During May and June stoppages began to seem common, driven mainly by laborers seeking wage increases. Such strikes will probably continue to happen frequently as Chinese workers seek a bigger share of their country’s growing economic power. So far they are finding strikes, slowdowns and other labor actions effective in helping to settle differences with management.